Removed groundwater, treated contamination with air stripper, and
discharged clean water into city sewer system

Continuing to evaluate the soil for possible contamination

PARTNERS

U.S. EPA

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

City of Minneapolis

B.B.D. Holdings, Inc

POSITIVE ECONOMIC IMPACTSPublic Revenue

$236,000 in annual state taxes from spending by permanent employees

$411,000 in annual state income taxes on salaries of permanent
employees

Long-term

220 permanent jobs with the business incubator program

$5.6+ million in total annual income and $4.5+ million in total annual
spending

ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL BENEFITS

Overall protection of public health and environment

Protection of the Mississippi River and its tributaries

Enhancement of entrepreneurial spirit in community

Elimination of blighted property and improvement to aesthetic quality
of the neighborhood

Last Updated April 1999

General Mills/HenkelMinneapolis, Minnesota

BEFORE
Chemical research facility where chemical wastes were disposed of for 15
years

AFTER
A business incubator program that is supporting the start-up and growth of
nearly 100 businesses

IMPACT
Community resource for entrepreneurs, local jobs and income, and increased
local spending and public revenues

Imagine an entrepreneur trying to get her dream business off the ground,
quickly realizing that office space, equipment, and administrative assistance
are too expensive for a start-up company’s budget. What if there were a
place where a business person could find all of these services, and more, in
an atmosphere designed specifically for small growing companies? Not only was
a place like this created in downtown Minneapolis, but it was done on the
General Mills/Henkel Corporation Superfund site. What was once a chemical
research and disposal site is now home to a thriving business development
service or “incubator,” which helps small businesses grow during
their start-up period. What follows is the story of how EPA worked with the
State of Minnesota to clean up and return this property to productive use,
and the positive economic impacts and environmental and social benefits that
have resulted.

Site Snapshot

The General Mills/Henkel Superfund site occupies three city blocks in a
predominately industrial area of Minneapolis. There are 15 buildings on the
site and railroad tracks run adjacent to the property. Although the area is
industrial, there are many homes next to the site and 7,500 households within
two miles. The site is 5,000 feet from the banks of the Mississippi River.

General Mills operated a technical research facility on the 6.5-acre
property from 1930 to 1977. The company conducted food research until 1947,
when chemical research began. Each year from 1947 to 1962, General Mills
disposed of 1,000 gallons of laboratory solvents and other chemical wastes in
a pit on the property. In 1980, General Mills sold the property to the Henkel
Corporation, which ceased operation in 1985.

From Solvents...

In September 1984, EPA placed the General Mills/Henkel site on its list of
hazardous waste sites needing cleanup. The Agency granted authority to the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to oversee the cleanup being funded
and performed by General Mills. General Mills analyzed methods for removing
the groundwater contamination, and the state approved a system that extracts
the groundwater, treats it, and discharges clean water into the city’s
storm sewer system. To carry out the cleanup, the state required General
Mills to obtain a permit which placed strict controls on the discharges and
ensured that only treated water entered the sewer system. MPCA is now
evaluating the effectiveness of the groundwater cleanup to decide whether
additional action will be needed to clean up the soil. However, MPCA has
determined that the site is safe for reuse and that the clean up performed to
date protects workers and visitors to the site.

...To Start-Up Businesses

The General Mills/Henkel site remained vacant until 1990, when the Henkel
Corporation sold the property at auction to B.B.D. Holdings, Inc., a private
investment group. B.B.D. Holdings converted the site to a business enterprise
development program, or “business incubator,” which supports the
creation and growth of small businesses, particularly during the critical
start-up period when they are most vulnerable. B.B.D. Holdings reused the
entire site, almost 290,000 square feet, by refurbishing the 15 buildings on
the property and converting them to offices, commercial space, and research
and laboratory facilities. Since 1990, B.B.D. Holdings has successfully
operated the business incubator program and now has more than 100 start-up
business tenants. Tenants include small businesses in the food, computer
graphics and printing, medical devices, designer clothing, and furniture
industries. The incubator program offers its tenants a central location in
the heart of Minneapolis, easy access to highways, ample parking, 24-hour
access, and management and maintenance services.

Community Benefits

Cleanup and reuse of the site is having positive economic impacts on the
local community. The business incubation program represents a fast-growing,
dynamic enterprise that focuses on the economic development of the
surrounding community. The program plays a significant role in providing
business opportunities to local entrepreneurs, fostering the growth of small
businesses that otherwise might not survive, and generating economic activity
in the community in the form of jobs and income, spending, and public
revenue. The transformation from a vacant, hazardous waste site into a
flourishing business incubator afforded temporary construction jobs and
several hundred permanent jobs for the community. The reuse has also
increased the value of the site and surrounding properties, which in turn
generates additional tax revenue for the community. The cleanup has also
ensured the protection of people and the environment from the adverse effects
of chemical pollution. It protected the Mississippi River from possible
contamination, which could have damaged fish and wildlife and prevented the
use of the river for drinking water and recreation. The actions at the site
also eliminated a vacant and blighted property from the community.

Keys to Success

The key ingredient in the successful cleanup and redevelopment of the General
Mills/Henkel Corporation site was the partnership among EPA, MPCA, the City
of Minneapolis, and B.B.D. Holdings, Inc. By working together, these partners
were able to clean the property and the existing buildings, so that the site
could be returned to productive use in a way that serves the community, the
environment, and the local economy. This cleanup strategy and the cooperation
of those involved have given more than 100 local entrepreneurs and small
businesses in the Minneapolis area an opportunity to grow and expand in an
affordable and managed environment.

For more information about the cleanup and redevelopment of the General
Mills/Henkel site, contact: